(Farhan Qureshi is a young FTN contributor who was a Muslim apologist until he became a freethinker. Here this ex-Muslim has a conversation with Florida pastor Terry Jones, globally notorious for publicly burning a Koran. Unfortunately, the sound quality is poor, but we wanted to post this record of what is an interesting and cordial meeting of individuals from very diverse backgrounds. A transcript would be helpful, obviously.)

My conversation with Terry Jones
by Farhan Qureshi

I had a chance to meet and talk to the infamous Qur’an burner Pastor Terry Jones, and at first I did not know what to expect. Quite honestly, he was a nice guy! He’s just on a mission, I guess. By no means do I support his methodology, and it’s awful that people were killed due to his demonstrations, but I think my conversation with him proved a lot to me: namely, that the Islamic radicals are far more disturbed than the Christian radicals. No matter how you want to put it, the fact that a man burned a holy book to make a point cannot possibly compare to all of the throat-slitting slaughters, sodomizing tortures, suicide bombings and cold-blooded murders done in the name of Islam time and time again. I’m sorry, but it just cannot compare.

18 Comments

It’s just paper …“it’s awful that people were killed due to his demonstrations”

People weren’t killed due to his demonstrations. People were killed because of the inherent pathology, arrogance, imaginary supremacy and seething violence of Islam that uses any excuse to perpetrate death on the world.

The chicken or The egg? Which came first? The Muslim extremits or the actions extremists use as excuses ? I have to ask myself why throw fuel on the fire your trying to put out? Maybe a different aproach to disagreement of another’s is not to burn their ” holy book/s”, it just kinda seems nazi to me. Freedom of speach ! Is unfortunately not free pro or con, what’s next freedom of thought? Thought nazis , scary thought. I’m sure the thought nazis will no doubt attempt to rid me of such thoughts . ( if you can-lol) peace

Playing the Nazi card is too simplistic, to say the least. Fanatic Islamists are some of the most censorial cultists in history, and they aligned themselves with the Nazis during World War II. Countless Islamists have called for the eradication of Israel and the genocide of the Jews. The Koran is used to justify anti-Jewish bigotry, calling Jews “apes and pigs.” ([url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQERHieZHcg[/url])

The Nazis not only didn’t burn the Koran, they gave it recognition as a “sacred text.”

The Nazi Mufti of Jerusalem ([url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0tdMoriQQg[/url])

Let me add the following in response to the objections concerning book burning.

So, if you reject the Koran in your mind, are you not “burning” the book? You’re burning it out of your mind. Could we not get all up in a moral outrage over such a thing as your “burning”/rejection of the Koran from your mind? How dare you reject the Koran and Islam! That’s an insult to Islam – perhaps we should burn YOU! [/irony]

Is it only when this book burning is manifested in the third dimension that it becomes offensive? What if I sat here all day long “burning” the Koran electronically by erasing it?

Shall we get all freaked out because there have been some 36,000 Korans “burned” electronically by having their files erased? Or perhaps we are just sensitive to smoke? Like I say, objecting to the air pollution is fair dinkum.

the christThis was the argument of the then Jesus in the scripture. If you even think a thing that is wrong, you HAVE INDEED committed the act or sinned. It is funny how people can think what they want and no person knows what is going on in that person’s mind. The evidence speaks when the actual act is committed. The battleground is in the mind. All religion is for the control of the so-called mind. The Gita says that thinking bad things will not count toward your Karma. “We battle not against flesh and blood but against the principalities and powers of the air.” These are IDEAS only that we fight and kill one another for. This is pure ignorance!

WhoopsThank you for your insight, I referenced nazis as in the ” book burning” they did, not what books they burned,and thanks to you I now know more. As far as fuel on the fire, it is what it is , deliberate ignorance escalating a situation that got people hurt, he was playing with a loaded gun and people got hurt. Did he hurt them? That’s debatable. Smart people don’t send threats or make a scene , they handle business . So I guess I’m saying I don’t think it was a prudent thing to do . It stopped not a single extremist but stopped the presses. Proactive policy is needed not proactive ignorance. What am I supposed to let it slide ,just cause the extremist Muslim is so wicked and feared? Dumb actions get people hurt , people got hurt so it just might have been dumb to do what he did . The guy is just human, and prone to mistakes , but perhaps more intelligent means are at our disposal than fanning fires, but I live in a fantasy world where I believe there is a better way,,Without putting ones head in a a hole. My dad said once” kicking a turd only gets your boots stinky”” use your brain son , find a shovel to pick it up, then go find who’s been poopin in your yard and hit him with the shovel if he won’t stop”. The turd= a problem caused, the stink= irrational dealing of problem, the shovel= wisdom. Somtimes the wisdom is knowing how to fight and when. And how hard. Burning the Quran is not smart enough of a tactic to be given any merit to. No matter how badly one disagrees. All he did was kick turd all over the place , now people got to deal with a mess the janitor normaly gets paid to normally mop up. ( wet work) Innocent people are not supposed to be fodder for idiots silly rabbit , trix are for kids , this guy and those like him need to sit back down at the kids table and let real grown ups deal with extremist terrorists. Support your troops ! Support your public servants! They are the real shovel for handling turds on a physical plane, cause obviuosly the world of Islam extremist(or any extremist) is far beyond the realm of debate or public demonstration. They sit in a realm of destruction of reason, death incarnate. Call in a Shovel , dig them a grave cause that’s where they want their world to be at. But let’s not brazenly pursue action at a cost we cannot repay. Collateral damage is just a bi word for carelessness . ( to timid?) – peace

Out of Place on this WebsiteI don’t understand why this content would be on this website. Terry Jones is just as much a fundamentalist as those who responded to his demonstration. He should have burned a Bible alongside the Quran if he really wanted to make a point.

He’s the exact opposite of a free thinker and everything a free thinker would want to be distanced from. It’s disgraceful that he went ahead with his selfish, little protest in full awareness that it would lead to American deaths. Maybe he wanted the demonstration to draw out the ugliness of Islam, but that still doesn’t justify his actions. I hope he put as much time into understanding the Quran as Acharya has before he decided that it had to be publicly burned.

This is not about freedom of speech, but pure intolerance for people with different beliefs than his own. Even free thought can become a dogma with no appreciation for other people’s spiritual journey as they move through their stages of faith.

News items about people discussing religion, in this case a Christian proselytizer and an ex-Muslim proselytizer, are most certainly [i]not [/i]out of place on this website. Do you mean to tell me I’m not allowed to post anything about devout Christians on my website? What about devout Muslims, are they off limits too? How about devout Jews? The focus of this blog is religion, so such censorship would be odd, to say the least.

Actually, I had already blogged about Terry Jones, because he was in the news:

I guess I’m only allowed to post comments critical of all people who follow a religion? Isn’t that rather bigoted?

As I stated at the top, Farhan Qureshi is a contributor to this blog, and he did an interesting thing: He had a dialogue with someone who has notoriety for an important reason.

I made no comment whether or not Terry Jones’s Christianity was my particular cup of tea. It obviously is not. But I have to say the man has serious stones for doing what he has done, which is basically to expose an even worse fanaticism. If it takes a fanatic to expose a fanatic, so be it. It’s still an important news item.

Rather than pandering to violent fanatics who will injure and slaughter other human beings over a book being burned – by timidly weeping about “fuel on the fire,” therefore caving into the terrorist mentality – we should laud those who have the courage to take this bull by the horns. I see the criticism of Jones in this case to be an act of justifying one’s own lack of action to stem this tide of oppression.

I also see a catharsis in such acts: Button-pushing can be very important in releasing tension. It’s part of therapy. Hiding one’s head in the sand and wishing it will all go away is counterproductive and ineffectual. Nor do I find all the pretentious moral outrage over book-burning to be particularly enlightened. Are you aware that the Saudis burn thousands of Korans every year ([url]http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/whats-proper-way-dispose-koran[/url])? Are you weeping and wailing over all the Bibles the U.S. government has burned in Afghanistan because of Muslim protests there? Where’s all the outrage over that book burning?

I’ve heard reports of my own books being burned. I didn’t fly into a rage and go on a murderous rampage. Nor should anyone burning my books be terrified of “throwing fuel on the fire,” as if I am some violent imbecile who cannot control herself. What kind of condescending coddling is this? Let us not rile up the savages? Doesn’t that seem rather derogatory? Are you an Islamophobe?

Do you know what happened when someone told me that a fanatic Christian had burned my first book, [i]The Christ Conspiracy[/i], believing that it had “brought demons” into the house? I laughed. It was so funny and ridiculous. But, let us not arouse the barbarians! The only problem I would have with such book burning is the air pollution it causes and waste of paper, but, hey if it’s cold out and you have no other fuel, burn away!

I also appreciate Farhan’s statements above that, rather than foaming at the mouth when addressed by a person of Muslim background, Jones was very cordial. The point here is that even with all the diversity, we [i]can [/i]get along, if we recognize each other as human beings. Books like the Koran (and the Bible) strongly prevent that recognition.

Here are verses from the Koran that have been followed as ETERNAL EDICTS by millions of devout Muslims over the past 1,400 years.

UNBELIEVERS

“This Book is not to be doubted…. As for the unbelievers, it is the same whether or not you forewarn them; they will not have faith. God has set a seal upon their hearts and ears; their sight is dimmed and grievous punishment awaits them.” Quran 2:1/2:6-2:10

“God’s curse be upon the infidels! Evil is that for which they have bartered away their souls. To deny God’s own revelation, grudging that He should reveal His bounty to whom He chooses from among His servants! They have incurred God’s most inexorable wrath. An ignominious punishment awaits the unbelievers.” Quran 2:89-2:90

“Lord…Give us victory over the unbelievers.” Quran 2:286

“Lord…give us victory over the unbelievers.” Quran 3:148

“I shall cast terror into the hearts of the infidels. Strike off their heads, strike off the very tips of their fingers.” Quran 8:12

“Let not the unbelievers think they will ever get away. They have not the power so to do. Muster against them all the men and cavalry at your command, so that you may strike terror into the enemy of Allah and your enemy…” Quran 8:59

“When the sacred months are over slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them.” Quran 9:5

“Prophet, make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal rigorously with them. Hell shall be their home: an evil fate.” Quran 9:73

“Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell around you. Deal firmly with them. Know that God is with the righteous.” Quran 9:123

“Believers, take neither the Jews nor the Christians for your friends. They are friends with one another…” Quran 5:51

“He that chooses a religion over Islam, it will not be accepted from him and in the world to come he will be one of the lost.” Quran 3:85

“Let not believers make friends with infidels in preference to the faithful – he that does this has nothing to hope for from Good – except in self-defense. God admonishes you to fear Him: for to God shall all return.” Quran 3:28

“Garments of fire have been prepared for the unbelievers. Scalding water shall be poured upon their heads, melting their skins and that which is in their bellies. They shall be lashed with rods of iron.

“Whenever, in their anguish, they try to escape from Hell, back they shall be dragged, and will be told: ‘Taste the torment of the Conflagration!'” Quran 22:19-20

“Muhammad is God’s apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another.” Quran 48:29

“Those that deny Our revelations We will burn in fire. No sooner will their skins be consumed than We shall give them other skins, so that they may truly taste the scourge. God is mighty and wise.” Quran 4:56

“Let not the unbelievers think that they will ever get away. They have not the power to do so. Muster against them all the men and cavalry at your command, so that you may strike terror into the enemy of God and your enemy…” Quran 8:59-60

“Believers, know that the idolaters [non-Muslims] are unclean. Let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year is ended.” Quran 9:28

“The unbelievers among the People of the Book [Bible] and the pagans shall burn for ever in the fire of Hell. They are the vilest of all creatures.” Quran 98:6

WOMEN

“They ask you about menstruation. Say: ‘It is an indisposition. Keep aloof from women during their menstrual periods and do not approach them until they are clean again; when they are clean, have intercourse with them whence God enjoined you….'” Quran 2:222

“Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and forsake them in beds apart, and beat them.” Quran 4:34

“A male shall inherit twice as much as a female.” Quran 4:11

“Call in two male witnesses from among you, but if two men cannot be found, then one man and two women whom you judge fit to act as witnesses…” Quran 2:282

“[Forbidden to you are] married women, except those whom you own as slaves.” Quran 4:24

SUMMARY OF KORANIC QUOTES REGARDING WOMEN

Menstruating women are unclean, and men must stay away from them. Women are men’s “fields,” and men can have sex with them whenever they want. Men are superior to women and have authority over them, while women must obey men or risk being beaten. A woman is worth one-half of a man. Muslim men can own sex slaves.

KORANIC REWARDS IN PARADISE

“The righteous shall return to a blessed retreat: the gardens of Eden, whose gates shall open wide to receive them. Reclining there with bashful virgins for companions, they will call for abundant fruit and drink.” Quran 38:51-2

“God has purchased from the faithful their lives and worldly goods, and in return has promised them the Garden. They will fight for the cause of God, they will slay, and be slain. Such is the true promise which He has made them in the Torah, the Gospel and the Koran….” Quran 9:111

“As for the righteous, they shall be lodged in peace together amid gardens and fountains, arrayed in rick silks and fine brocade. Even thus; and We shall wed them to dark-eyed houris.” Quran 44:51-54

“On that day [the unbelievers] shall be sternly thrown into the fire of Hell . . . But in fair gardens the righteous shall dwell in bliss, rejoicing in what their Lord will give them. Their Lord will shield them from the scourge of Hell. He will say: Eat and drink to your hearts content. This is the reward of your labours.

“They shall recline on couches ranged in rows. To dark-eyed houris [virgin girls] We shall wed them. . . . Fruit We shall give them, and such meats as they desire. They will pass from hand to hand a cup inspiring no idle talk, no sinful urge; and there shall wait on them young boys of their own, as fair as virgin pearls.” Quran 52:13-24

“Reclining there upon soft couches, they shall feel neither the scorching heat nor the biting cold. Trees will spread their shade around them, and fruits will hang in clusters over them.

“They shall be served with silver dishes, and beakers as large as goblets; silver goblets which they themselves shall measure: and cups brim-full with ginger-flavoured water from a fount called Salsabil. They shall be attended by boys graced with eternal youth, who to the beholders eyes will seem like sprinkled pearls. When you gave upon that scene, you will behold a kingdom blissful and glorious.” Quran 76:9-20

Quotes from the Quran ([url]http://truthbeknown.com/islamquotes.htm[/url])

I definitely wouldn’t tell someone what content she can put on her site. But it seems to me that a ridiculous guy like Terry Jones doesn’t deserve to be dignified by some of your talent and erudition. I came to your site so I could link to it from my blog, but I would be embarrassed to have anything to do with that man. He put making a statement before human lives and cast both religions in a bad light with his inflammatory actions.

That said, I love your writing and have benefited from your scholarship. It has led me to such writers as Tom Harpur and Alvin Boyd Kuhn. I hope you have taken the time to study spiral dynamics and read people like Ken Wilbur so that you can appreciate the stages people have to work through to arrive at similar conclusions as your own. From what I understand, you were raised in the church and abandoned your faith as well. I think many of us have been spiritually injured by religion, but we all have to work through it. Abandoning religion is a painful process and I don’t think I’m better than those in my church who still cling to literal views. They will abandon their views and spiritually evolve just like we did when they are ready to.

I’m sorry that you would feel “embarrassed” to show that I am not an unreasonable person who is wholly bigoted against someone simply because he or she does not see the world as I do.

For the record, I have never said I wanted to ban all religion, that one can’t believe in God or not believe in God, or that one cannot believe in Jesus, if he or she wishes. I have no interest in mind control and do not care what anyone does in the privacy of his or her own mind.

I also don’t care if someone wants to call him or herself a theist or atheist, a polytheist, a pantheist or agnostic, mythicist, secular, humanist or nothing at all. It’s none of my business.

I would think that someone would be proud to link to a website that represents the ultimate fair hearing.

I have no personal beef with Terry Jones, and I don’t hate him or choose to ignore him simply because he espouses Christian fundamentalist views. If he tried to legislate those views to force everyone else into them, then I would have a problem with him. In the case of the Koran burning, Jones is making a well-needed protest, and he should be lauded, especially since he puts it into the context of helping women. Now, if we want to criticize him for following a desert-barbarian cult ([url]https://freethoughtnation.com/contributing-writers/63-acharya-s/578-what-does-the-new-testament-say-about-women.html[/url])that is only one step up from Islam in its abuse of women, then we are free to do so.

I’d frankly be embarrassed to have a blog following that didn’t concur with my opinions here. Who wants a bunch of mindless bigots as readers who will shut down a meaningful dialogue of global importance? Such bigotry and snobbery are a major part of the problem with this world to begin with. I’ve been on the receiving end of myself, and it grows old.

AardvarkI am assuming you are male. Why? Because you are crying out for tolerance of a pseudo-religion that imprisons women in their clothes; in their homes; denies women equality and freedom; beheads women if they are caught out in the open air without a proper male escort; savagely mutilate little girls’ genitals; and disgustingly more. Let us not forget the Koran fanatics’ primary goal in life: to kill us all, unless we obey their gender-biased cult disguised as a religion. When they take over our country, if you are a male, they will rape and torture your wife, daughter, mother, sister before they stone them to death, for whatever reason their sadistic minds can think of.

If you don’t believe that, then you are in denial (and I don’t mean the river in Egypt).

This is not about freethinkers, it is about life and death and the destruction of the civilized world. Get it?

What’s funny about your reference to the Nile is that an evangelical pastor at a camp I went to used Egypt as a euphemism for hell and professed to the have the ability to know who was going there.

When I asked him where he thought I was going, he said Egypt. When I asked him about my friend, he said he so deep in Egypt that he was all the way down the Nile.

The problem I have is distinguishing between religion vs. culture, political ideology, and political control. How do you separate these things? I’ve met Muslims who take that jihad garbage about as seriously as Christians take Leviticus purity laws or Paul’s belief that women should have their heads covered in church.

I think the culture has to change so that the Quran can be just as critically analyzed as the Bible. I doubt very few people who find your site would support the despicable way women are treated by some Islamic cultures, but citing verses from the Quran has just as much of an impact as citing verses from the Bible that support behaviors that are now socially unacceptable.

Seriously?Whether you think Terry Jones is just as fundamentalist as some Muslims is irrelevant. By definition, based on evidence, he is not. He does not take free speech from civilization into barbarity by slaughtering people. That tiny little step that so many people like you ignore is the difference between sanity and insanity, civilization and savagery, Muslims and the rest of the world. How many jets has Terry Jones flown into buildings? How many homicide bombings has Terry Jones perpetrated? How many people has Terry Jones slaughtered with impunity because his pitiful little feelings were offended? Personally, I think all religion is nothing more than mental illness, but equivocation and false comparisons won’t make Islam sane and acceptable. Simply saying the oft repeated platitudes like “Christians and Jews are just as bad as Muslims” does not make them true or useful. Given modern technology, weapons and communication, Islam is the worst ideology to ever walk the planet. How much evidence do you need?

P.sYou asked me to reference a following comment , and in it found this statement ” I see the criticism of Jones in this case to be an act of justifying one’s own lack of action to stem this tide of oppression.” If that comment was meant for me it was a rather ignorant statement because you don’t know me or what I’ve done , only what I’ve said here. I have served my country and my community to ensure safety from terrorist on an international level ( ex- army) and a local level( ex- volunteer unpaid deputy sheriff, and martial arts instructor) and on a personal level. I have saved many lives. I was working in surgery the day the okc bombing occurred right down the street and know all too well what terrorism can do, and I am not afraid of such people . They are cowards, always running from wisdom – peace

Jones is not in any way responsible for the violence of deranged savages a world away. It is THEIR problem that burning a book full of hatred makes them behave like demented barbarians.

In therapy, one doesn’t skirt around the issue that is causing bad behavior: One takes it head on, by the horns, looks closely at it. This Koran-destruction is part of global therapy. When that button no longer elicits a demented reaction, then the world will no longer be so dangerous.

As I stated in my post below, I’ve heard reports of my own books being burned. I didn’t fly into a rage and go on a murderous rampage. Nor should anyone burning my books be terrified of “throwing fuel on the fire,” as if I am some violent imbecile who cannot control herself. What kind of condescending coddling is this? Let us not rile up the savages? Doesn’t that seem rather derogatory? Are you an Islamophobe?

Do you know what happened when someone told me that a fanatic Christian had burned my first book, [i]The Christ Conspiracy[/i], believing that it had “brought demons” into the house? I laughed. It was so funny and ridiculous. But, let us not arouse the barbarians! The only problem I would have with such book burning is the air pollution it causes and waste of paper, but, hey if it’s cold out and you have no other fuel, burn away!

The only way I would blame someone for violence associated with a book burning is if the book ended upon on top of a person and burned him or her. Otherwise, these savages need to control themselves. Their cultic practices do not make them civilized; on the contrary, they make them violence and barbaric. Jones’s act perfectly demonstrated that fact.

The problem lies with the violent savages who kill other, living human beings over a book. It is not with the people who burn that same violence-inducing, sexist and hate-filled book.

And I ask you again, does “burning” the book out of my mind make me into a provocateur who should be blamed for violence by savages on the other side of the world? Have you read the Koran? If you reject it, aren’t you “burning” it from your mind? If you said that publicly and someone was killed in Afghanistan because of your statement, would you be responsible?

And what if I sat here all day electronically burning the Koran by pressing this link?

Would l really be responsible for violence in the Middle East for pushing that button? These violent cultures need to grow up and stop acting like terrible-twos toddlers.

In the meantime, you have basically just repeated your same argument, even though I already answered it, and I have just repeated my answer. I will be disinclined to continue to reiterate my position, which remains as I have stated in previous comments.

But, if you wish to burn a Bible in response to show how the book Jones believes in is almost as depraved as the Koran, I would have no problem with that act either, except for, as previously stated, the air pollution and waste of resources.

The moment …If you are threatened and or if violence is threatened, in any form, for what you think or say, you must realize immediately that you are dealing with a monster. This should be very plain. To even begin to think that we must not think or say something because someone somewhere might decide to be offended and use such as an excuse to start slaughtering, bombing and burning, says that we no longer have freedom of thought or speech. Terry Jones might be the most despicable person to ever walk the Earth (except for Anjem Choudary), but that is utterly irrelevant. He IS NOT responsible for the actions of Muslims. They and they alone are responsible for their actions. I think Robert Spencer recently wrote an article about the necessity to stop treating Muslims like toddlers. My guess is that most people in our little warped world would have a completely opposite reaction if a Bible were burned and Christians went nuts and started slaughtering people. Yes, most would blame it on the Christians, not the Bible burner(s). So, why do some of you blame the Koran burners for Muslim violence? Recognize your own denied duplicity and you’ll start getting somewhere. Seriously, you have to realize that you cannot be nice enough, pander enough, shut up enough, appease enough, do nothing/something enough, say or not say something enough, kiss ass enough, pay enough, deny enough, apologize enough, die enough, etc., to make Muslims happy so that they will leave you alone. You simply cannot and they will not. They hate and despise our very existence on the planet. No matter what, Muslims are going to hate us, try to subjugate us and try to kill us. Therefore, what is the point in trying to not offend them? In my opinion, there is none. Every time we pander and appease, that is, play their game, we lose ground to their insanity and barbarism. Do you believe that Muslims are superior to you and that you are a worthless infidel kuffar who deserves, at best, to be a server and or slave of Islam? Do you believe that Islam is some sort of superior ideology which has answers to everything and for everyone? Seriously? They do. And, if you don’t wake up and realize who you are and where you live, we all are going to be existing in a living hell perpetrated on us by Muslims and Islam.

Well…Acharya,You make your position quite clear, and I have no problem with the act of burning of trash, I just don’t think it solves the issue.I’m with you 110% on pretty much every thing else you present. radicals need dealing with and Im hoping to see more intelligence concerning the impact of radical Islam , not dammit doll therapy, we are all stuck on this island earth together. We should fix what we can , cause right now we are all castaways. Lord of the flys or smith family Robinson – keep up what you are doing, you have presented yourself superiorly intelligent amongst most and I appreciate your suplication of facts. Acharya for president? I’d probly vote- peace

Although I caught this article today, 12/15/ 2013, I feel that I have to add to this article and the following conversations.
Concerning Terry Jones: he is a total fraud. He has no congregation to speak of; the doctorate he claims to have is also fraudulent bought from a printing shop on Germany, where by the way he was employed by the CIA as an instructor involved in Operation Gladio, which was involved in the training of terrorist cells that eventually broke loose from CIA control. This man is a fraud from the very start and I would be very surprised to find he is still not working for the CIA.
Now, the information I obtained came from an article by Gordon Duff, senior editor of Veterans Today website. He is a Marine Viet Nam vet and spent the rest of his career in the intelligence and other governmental services. He and others of the website performed an exhaustive research on Jones which uncovered his past. The motives behind his actions should be highly suspect.

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"Previously I have interviewed Frank Zindler, Richard Carrier, David Fitzgerald and Robert Price, all of whom are ‘mythicists'; they don’t think there was ever anyone alive whom we could recognize as either Jesus or Moses. Of the lot of them, I would have thought that Price was the foremost expert, but he referred me to D.M. Murdock, also known as Acharya S, author of Did Moses Exist? The Myth of the Israelite Lawgiver, an impressive piece of work. It’s definitive.” —Aron Ra, president, American Atheists-TX

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“Your scholarship is relentless! …the research conducted by D.M. Murdock concerning the myth of Jesus Christ is certainly both valuable and worthy of
consideration.” —Dr. Kenneth L. Feder, Professor of Archaeology, Central Connecticut State University, Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience In Archaeology

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“Well-referenced, with numerous quotations from renowned Egyptologists and classical scholars, Acharya’s penetrating research clearly lays out the very ancient pre-Christian basis of modern Christianity. Those who espouse Christianity beware! After digesting the evidence, you will never again view your religion in the same light.” —Dr. Robert M. Schoch, Professor of Natural Science College of General Studies at Boston University; Author, Pyramid Quest, Voyages of the Pyramid Builders and Voices of the Rocks

“Acharya S deserves to be recognized as a leading researcher and an expert in the field of comparative mythology, on a par with James Frazer or Robert Graves—indeed, superior to those forerunners in the frankness of her conclusions and the volume of her evidence.” —Barbara Walker, The Women’s
Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets and Man Made God

“I’ve known people with triple Ph.D’s who haven’t come close to the scholarship in Who Was Jesus?” —Pastor David Bruce, M.Div, North Park Seminary, Chicago, HollywoodJesus.com

“Thirty years ago, when in divinity school, I might have had second thoughts about becoming an Episcopal priest if a book like D. M. Murdock’s Who Was Jesus? had been available to me.” —Bob Semes, Retired university professor of History and Religion, Founder and Executive Director of The Jefferson Center

“In addition to presenting in Suns of God the troubling history of religious wars in an easily followed narrative, Acharya goes a step further, explaining as only she can how a once-simplistic idea has been carried into our modern world with terrible and nearly unimaginable results.” —Rev. Dr. W. Sumner Davis, Fellow, Royal Astronomical Society; Member, American Geophysical Union; Affiliate, New York Academy of Science

“Ms. Murdock is one of only a tiny number of scholars with the richly diverse academic background (and the necessary courage) to adequately address the question of whether Jesus Christ truly existed as a walking-talking figure in first-century Palestine.” —David Mills, Atheist Universe

“Thank you, Acharya, for the important work you are doing. Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of the Christ just might be the best short introduction to Biblical scholarship yet.” —David Bergland, 1984 Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate, Libertarianism In One Lesson

“…I have found her scholarship, research, knowledge of the original languages, and creative linkages to be breathtaking and highly stimulating.” — Rev. Dr. Jon Burnham, Pastor, Presbyterian Church, Houston, TX

“Acharya S has done a superb job in bringing together the rich panoply of ancient world mythology and culture, and presenting it in a comprehensive and compelling fashion.” —Earl Doherty, The Jesus Puzzle

“Acharya S is a shining light of truth in a sea of deceit.” —Rob McConnell, X Zone Radio/TV, Ontario, Canada

“Amidst the global chaos of George Bush’s War on Terror, largely founded on religious intolerance and simplistic notions of good and evil, Acharya S is the voice of reason.” —Joan D’Arc, Paranoia

“D.M. Murdock could well be the most brilliant, insightful and rigorous theologian writing today.” —Robert Tulip

“Acharya S is the ranking religious philosopher of our era.” —John K.

“Acharya S/Murdock deserves an award for her hard work and courage. She is the Galileo of our day!” —Charles Johnson

“Acharya S knows more about the ancient Mysteries than any living scholar.” —Christopher Knowles

“Acharya S is an amazing researcher with a tremendous amount of energy and appetite for constant discovery of newer horizons. ” —Dr. O.P. Sudrania

“D.M. Murdock is a genius. Her scholarship on this subject is impeccable and has conducted the most thorough research I’ve ever read.” —David Kim

“Acharya Murdock’s work is so important, so clear and so timely!” —Theresa Weiss, PowerPlaces.com

“I am Hindu, and I read the Bhaagavatham in which the life of Krishna is detailed. I also read your works, and I endorse you. Keep up the good work.” —Murali Chemuturi

“Sooooooo glad you continue to spread your messages! Having had the privilege to meet with you face-to-face and share lunch some years back, I certainly can vouch for you to be a sincere, warm, caring and highly engaging individual, and this world is all the better because of you.

“Having known Acharya for quite some time, and although our life’s paths have diverged, she is never far from mind, and all thoughts are positive. She is a solid driving force for all things wise, good and useful that make this earth a tad bit better. We could use millions more like her.” —Robert W.Morgan